Magazine Roundup: India This Week

Here is a roundup of some of the most interesting articles recently published in Indian and international magazines.

Two Men And A Vote. “The story of Rahul and Akhilesh’s gamble makes this the most fascinating state election in recent times — both for its far-reaching political impacts and its human drama,” Shoma Chaudhury, managing editor of Tehelka, writes in the magazine’s cover story this week. She profiles Akhilesh Yadav, the son Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is emerging as a key contender to Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh, where local elections are ongoing. “Suddenly now, there’s another young new leader with a clean image talking development and inclusiveness. Suddenly the youth... have not one but two new credible counters. Suddenly Rahul’s marathon lap has a sharp short-distance competitor,” she writes.

The Emperor Uncrowned. In the cover story of this month’s issue of The Caravan, Vinod K. Jose traces the rise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The piece coincides with the tenth anniversary of the bloody religious riots in the state, which left an indelible stain on the legacy of the chief minister. “Ten years after the anti-Muslim pogroms that killed more than 1,200 Gujaratis, Modi has managed to bury the past and resurrect his own extinct prospects for political advancement, replacing epithets like “fascist”, “mass murderer” and “Hindutva fanatic” with a title of his own choosing: Vikaas Purush, or Development Man. For the first families of Indian business, Modi is “the next leader of India”, “a visionary”, “the unstoppable horse”, and “the CEO who can lead the country”, to quote just a sampling of the effusive endorsements from men named Tata, Ambani and Mittal,” Mr. Jose writes.

Making Quite A Bomb. An Outlook investigation exposes major security lapses in Maharashtra. It reveals how a government agency allegedly outsourced the production of an explosive to a private firm with no license. The report says workers at this firm also had access to a government explosives lab despite the fact they had no intelligence clearance. India’s Central Bureau of Investigation is now looking into the matter.

Science’s Second Coming to India. “By all accounts, the wheels have been set in motion to win back some of the finest minds of Indian origin to align forces with their country of origin—either by coming back home, or by helping set up the framework that will stimulate a renaissance,” Seema Singh writes in Forbes. The piece argues that India is now ready for a “renaissance in innovation.”